Hey, Hey, We're the MonkETTEs?
by Comickazi13
Summary: The boys have all invited their sisters to come live with them. Told from various Monkette POVS and in the TV show universe. Be very careful to check the POV tags or you won't understand half the story. Rated T for some sexual references.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_Jamie's POV_

I sat on the bench, waiting for my bus to pull into the Los Angeles Bus Station. In the meantime, I sketched a new invention in my notebook.

"Brilliant," I muttered to myself, erasing a stray pencil mark. "Mick'll be impressed."

I was going to go live with my older brother, Micky. I was his favorite sibling, even though he had too much heart to admit it in front of the others. He often denied that he had a favorite, quoting that ever-popular phrase, "I love you guys all equally."

A bus drove into the station and I prepared to board. I picked up my two suitcases, closed my notebook, and stuck the pencil stub behind my ear. Covering up my ears with my naturally-wavy brown hair, I climbed up the stairs on the bus.

_Jemima's POV_

"Darlin', whenever you feel like you wanna come home, you just do that, alrighty?" my mom cried into my ribs. How a short little momma like that could give birth to giraffes like me and my brother Mike I had no idea.

"You just stay outta trouble and keep your chin up," my dad drawled. "It's the Nesmith way."

"Yes, Daddy," I smiled. I managed to pull away from Mom and I latched my arms around my dad's neck.

He was even taller than Mike, standing at a full six feet seven and a half inches. In my opinion, he was quite handsome, but that might just be because he's my dad. Mike was nearly his spitting image except Mike had dark brown hair and Dad was a redhead.

I waved to my family before picking up my suitcase and walking off to the bus stop. I was taking a cross-country trip, from Texas to California, to go live with my brother. I couldn't wait. I hadn't had one-on-one time with him in such a long while.

_Emily's POV_

I buckled my seatbelt and waited for my airplane to take off. While I waited, I pulled out a magazine and started flipping through it.

Grandfather had finally decided that I was allowed to accept Davy's invitation to live with him in America for a while. I was so excited to see my younger brother again. It was strange, having to get Grandfather's approval to go see family. But, he loved us both, and I suppose that's all that really mattered.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the soft English dialect of the captain whispered through the speakers, "we are about to take off. Please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your flight."

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. It felt so good to be on my way to see Davy. I wondered how he was faring. The last letter he sent to Grandfather said that he was doing quite well and was very successful. Secretly, I hoped that he wasn't. I knew my brother like a book and fame would easily go to his head.

_Kaylee's POV_

I ran my fingers through my blonde hair, trying to untangle the mats. I knew that Peter wouldn't care because of my long journey, but even so, I wanted to make a good impression. I heard that he was living with three other boys.

I'm not boy crazy. I never was. I just get paranoid about what people think of me. So it wasn't really the boys themselves that were freaking me out. It was that they would judge me negatively if I didn't straighten up.

As I leaned back into my seat, I tried not to think about where the train was rumbling. I concentrated on going to see my baby brother. I missed him. When he left Connecticut, I thought I would die of loneliness. Peter was not only my brother, but my best friend as well. I tried to picture him now that he was older. He looked so young and innocent the last time I saw him. He was eighteen at the time. I was nineteen.

I was suddenly stricken with worry about how Peter would see me now that I was older. I was twenty-two now. I started panicking about whether my fashion was too dull for California living. What if I was an embarrassment to Peter? I would never forgive myself! I felt my pulse quicken and I tried to keep myself contained. But it wasn't working. I tried taking deep, even breaths. That seemed to help for the time being.

"Sleep, Kaylee," I commanded myself out loud. "You'll feel better if you forget about it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Jamie's POV_

I plunked myself down in an aisle seat and retrieved my pencil, immediately continuing my sketch. I penciled in a detailed drawing of a gear in the right place before realizing that the girl sitting next to me was looking at me funny.

"What?" I asked, half-irritably, half in honest confusion.

"Nothin'," the other girl responded. I could hear her Southern accent in just that one word. "What're you drawin'?"

"Invention," I replied shortly. I made the last couple marks. "Done." I turned my head to the girl and handed her my notebook. "Wanna see?"

She took the notebook from my hands and scanned the page. Her eyebrows raised and her lips pursed out in obvious approval. Without taking her eyes away from the page, she started asking me questions.

"What's it supposed to do?"

"I haven't decided," I laughed. "My first idea was an automatic socks-sorter. My brothers never could find their own socks. You have no idea how many times my brother Micky had to wear pink socks because he couldn't find his own."

"Who'd the pink ones belong to?" the girl asked, lowering my notebook and looking at me with a questioning expression.

"His twin sister, Millie," I shrugged. There was a pause. "I'm Jamie, by the way. Jamie Dolenz." I reached my hand towards her.

"I'm Jemima Nesmith," the girl smiled, shaking my hand and handing me back my notebook.

"Glad to know you," I grinned, closing the notebook and placing it on my lap. "Where're you headed?"

"Hollywood," Jemima shrugged. "Got family there."

"What a coincidence!" I exclaimed. "So do I!"

_Jemima's POV_

Jamie was loud. People on the bus were starting to stare, so I turned to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Jamie," I said quietly, "don't you get embarrassed when people look at you weird?"

"Nah!" Jamie laughed. "I'm used it. I have a pretty wacky family. My brother Micky does all these funny impressions and jokes around all the time. Whenever you're in public with him, you can guarantee that he'll do something silly."

"Family resemblance is striking," someone muttered behind us.

Jamie flushed, but her face soon drained all red color. She popped her head over the seat and grinned at the guy behind us.

"Thanks!" she chirped. "That means a lot to me. You have no idea!" Giggling, she slid back down in her seat and started erasing stray lines on her paper.

"Next stop, LA Train Station!" the bus driver yelled. "Los Angeles Train Station, next!"

"Ooh, goodie," Jamie smirked, looking up from her book and peering around me to see out the window. "Isn't it a pretty building? Someday, I'm going to help build one of these places."

"A train station?" I asked in confusion. Jamie gave me a sarcastic look, but smiled.

"No, silly. A building that's both functional and beautiful. Skyscrapers are old news."

The bus came to a sudden halt and the doors opened with a FWOOSH. A rather disgruntled-looking girl with blonde hair and nervous eyes walked into the bus and sat down across the aisle from Jamie and me.

_Kaylee's POV_

My nap on the train hadn't done me much good. I was still really nervous about seeing Peter and his new friends. When I sat down on the bus, I started chewing my nails. It was a nasty habit that I needed to get out of, but it helped me calm down as much as humanly possible.

"That's not very good for your nails," a girl across the aisle pointed out. I looked over to take a look at her.

There were two girls. One had lighter brown hair that was tied off in wavy double-ponytails. She was wearing a comfortably-fitting purple top, a black skirt, and white sneakers. The other had a dark brown bob hairstyle. She was wearing a tan sundress, a black vest, and a pair of easy slip-on shoes.

"I know," I sighed. "I'm just really nervous."

"About?" the first girl asked.

"I'm going to see my brother. I haven't seen him in three years," I shivered.

"Good for you!" the girl exclaimed.

"You wouldn't happen to be going to Hollywood, would you?" the second girl questioned.

"Yes, actually," I smiled half-heartedly.

"SCORE!" the first girl cheered. "I'm Jamie Dolenz. And that's Jemima." Jamie jerked her thumb at the second girl. "We're heading to Hollywood to see family too."

"What a coincidence," I laughed shyly. "My name is Kaylee Tork."

"Pretty name," Jemima smiled sweetly.

"Thanks," I blushed.

Jamie didn't take any time to start getting to know me. Immediately, she started asking about random things. She wanted to know every little detail about me. I could tell that we would get along really well for the next half-hour or so until we had to get off at different stops.

_Emily's POV_

"Excuse me," I asked a man on the corner as I walked out of Los Angeles Airport. "Could you tell me where the busses are?"

"Is that an English accent?" the man asked back. "Whoa! What a trip! Uh…sure. The bus stop is over there, little lady. Have a nice day."

"You too, sir," I smiled before heading off to the place where the man had pointed.

"'Sir!' Wow! She really _is_ British!" I heard him exclaim as I walked away.

Typical. Everywhere I went in this airport I was met with, "Are you English?" and "Do you know The Beatles personally?" and "Do you really drink tea every day?" Quite honestly, it was getting annoying. I couldn't wait to be with Davy and not have to figure out these confusing Californian dialects.

I stood at the bus stop for a while. Finally, a bus rolled up with "Hollywood" written on the destination plate. The doors opened and I climbed in.

The place was jam-packed! I managed to squeeze myself through the crowd. When I found an empty seat, I tried to shove my suitcase into the overhead rack. But, I was too short. I tried and tried, jumping up as high as I could. I was just about to give up because the driver was giving me a dirty look when a girl from across the aisle stood up.

"Let me," she drawled. She was really tall and putting the suitcase in the rack was easy for her.

"Thanks," I replied before climbing over a blonde girl to the window seat.

"Guess we're seat buddies for a while," the blonde blushed.

"Guess we are," I shrugged. There was a silence, broken only by the tall girl and a loud girl chatting across the aisle. "I'm Emily," I sighed.

"I'm Kaylee," the blonde replied. There was another silence. "Where are you going?" Kaylee finally asked.

"Hollywood," I said. "To live with some family."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I smiled. She was growing on me.

"How interesting," Kaylee pondered. "Hey, Jamie, this girl's going to Hollywood to live with family too."

"Geez!" the loud girl, assumedly Jamie, exclaimed. "Small world! Am I right, Jemima?"

"Yeah," the tall girl smirked. "Really small. I'm starting to think we all have the same family."

"Wouldn't that be groovy?" Jamie chattered. "What if we all had the same brother and we got to live together? That would be totally cool! Quick! What's the name of the person you're visiting? I'm going to see my brother Micky."

"My brother Mike," Jemima shrugged.

"My brother Peter," Kaylee smiled.

"My brother D…Hey, wait a second," I mumbled, my eyes widening. I reached into my pocket and retrieved Davy's letter.

_"I am living with my band mates. They are really nice guys and I think that you would have a great time living here. Their names are Mike, Peter, and Micky."_

"What's up?" Jamie asked.

"I…I think we're going to the same place," I thought out loud. "I think all our brothers live together."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Jamie's POV_

When I heard Emily's news, I was excited beyond all telling. I felt some kind of connection with these girls and I wanted to hang out more. Getting to live with them _and_ Micky? That would be some kind of combination worth seeing!

The bus slowly emptied out as we traveled through Hollywood. With each stop, the girls and I started believing even more fervently that we were going to the same place. After all, none of these other bus stops were the right ones for us. Finally, we were the only four on the bus besides the driver.

"Next stop is the end of the line, girls," he called. "North Beachwood Street, next."

"Thanks," Jemima called back. I could tell that of the four of us, she was the natural leader.

The bus slowly came to a halt and the doors swung open. Kaylee and I collected our luggage from the rack as Jemima collected both Emily's and her own. Jemima took the lead, walking down the aisle calmly. I followed her next. I was followed by Emily and then Kaylee, who wanted to put off being judged as much as possible. I didn't see why. I was always taught that it doesn't matter what people think of you as long as you respect yourself.

As I hopped out of the bus, I pulled out a slip of paper from my skirt pocket. Unfolding it, I read it to myself before relaying the message to the other girls.

"The address is 1428 North Beachwood. Everybody got the same thing?" There was a rustle as Kaylee, Emily, and Jemima took slips of paper out of various places on their person.

"Same for me," Jemima shrugged.

"And me," Kaylee smiled.

"Me too," Emily grinned.

"Looks like we're living together!" I shouted. There was a squeal of girl happiness as the four of us hugged right there in the middle of the sidewalk. "C'mon! Let's go find the house!"

_Jemima's POV_

We walked for a while until we found the correct address. The house was on the beach, which excited Emily a lot. Apparently, she loved to walk on the beach. It was just too cold in England to do that very often.

"Davy and I used to walk on the beach all the time," she boasted. "We'd bundle up, nice and warm, and watch the waves. They were still pretty, even if they were gray. I missed that when he came here to America."

"What are we doing standing outside?" Jamie asked. "Let's go in!"

"Wait!" Kaylee shivered. "Can't we just wait a little bit longer?"

"It'll be fine, Kay," I smiled. I put my arm around her and gave her a sideways hug. "He's your brother. He's not going to judge you. You said yourself that you two love each other more than anything. And if Emily, Jamie, and I are any indication, you'll love _our_ brothers too."

"I guess," Kaylee whimpered. She gripped my arm and gave me a pleading look. "Don't make me go first."

"You don't have to go first, Kaylee," I assured her.

"Here goes!" Jamie called over her shoulder as she slammed her fist against the door. There was a small silence before the door swung open.

"SQUIRT!" exclaimed the guy who opened the door.

"MICKY!" Jamie shouted right back, taking a flying leap into his arms. They hugged for a while, laughing hardily.

"I missed you like crazy!" Micky cried, putting Jamie back on the ground. So being loud was a family thing, apparently.

"Me too!" Jamie squealed. "Rather, I missed _you_, not _me_." The brother and sister shared another laugh.

Suddenly, another guy appeared at the door. Considering how short he was, I assumed he was Emily's brother, Davy. I was right.

"Emmy?" he asked. "That can't be my big sister!"

"Hi, Davy!" Emily chirped. "You've grown."

"How short was he the _last_ time you saw him?" Micky joked, nudging Davy with his elbow.

"Jemima?" I heard a Southern accent call. I turned my head.

_Kaylee's POV_

Jemima looked over and saw the tall man in the doorway. She flushed and walked over to him. The man took her shoulders in his hands and looked at her.

"You look nice," he said.

"Thanks, Mike," Jemima mumbled. "You do too."

"Did you get a haircut?" Mike asked.

Jemima nodded. Mike felt the ends of her short hair with his fingertips.

"They did a good job," he smiled. Jemima's face brightened and she threw her arms around Mike's neck. Mike's arms snaked around her waist as they hugged. I could see a tiny tear slip out of Mike's closed eyes. It was really sweet.

"Well, there's only one of you left," Micky pointed out. "You must be Peter's big sister."

I felt frozen. I couldn't move my arms, legs, mouth, or brain. I just stood there, petrified. He was judging me! I could feel it!

"Yeah," Jamie nodded. "She's Peter's sister."

"And she's a bit shy," Emily added.

Silently, I thanked my lucky stars that Emily and Jamie were looking out for me. I would have just stood there like a statue if they hadn't cut in.

"Aw," Micky smiled kindly, "don't worry. We're nice guys. We don't bite." He turned to Jamie. "Except that one time that this crazy chick wouldn't let go of my leg."

I must have looked panic-stricken, because Jamie cut in.

"He was five," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh," I sighed in relief, letting my shoulders drop.

"The family resemblance is incredible," Micky muttered to Jamie. "Peter does that all the time. And she's got a dimple just like her brother too."

"Well, they _are _related," Jamie huffed. "Family members do tend to look alike. Although I wouldn't look like _you _even if someone paid me ten dollars an hour."

"Why you little…" Micky trailed off as he chased Jamie into the house. Jamie squealed all the way.

They were such cute siblings. You couldn't watch them horse around and not break into a smile.

"Are our sisters here?" asked a low voice. My heart ramped up the pace, partly out of excitement and partly out of horror. Peter's face came to the door. He looked much older and grown up since the last time I saw him.

"Hi, Peter," I said softly, wiggling my fingers in a sorry attempt of a wave. In my mind, I was yelling at myself for being nervous when A. he was my brother and B. I was the older sibling.

I didn't have much time to think about it before Peter came running forward and gave me a tight hug. Not expecting it, I lost my balance a little, but I kept myself steady, hugging him back. My hand instinctively started stroking his hair like I always had done when I hugged him.

"I missed you so much," Peter whimpered.

"I missed you too, Petey," I sighed. "I was so lonely."

_Emily's POV_

"Let's get you girls settled," Davy grinned, grabbing my upper arm. He hauled me inside to the living room.

"These stairs are groovy!" Jamie exclaimed, climbing up the outside of the stairs like a squirrel.

"I know!" Micky agreed, following her up the same way.

Davy pulled me up the stairs and into a room. The room was very neat and tidy and had two of everything: two beds, two closets, two dressers, two nightstands, and two mirrors. White, lacy curtains hung over the windows on wooden rods.

"You don't mind sharing your room with Kaylee, do you?" Davy asked.

"Not at all," I shrugged. "She's a nice girl."

"Good," Davy smiled. "Well, I'll bring up your bags and you can get all settled in." He turned to leave, turned again, and smiled at me. "I'm really glad you came, Emmy."

"Me too," I smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Jemima's POV_

"Hey, Jemima!" Jamie squealed as I walked into the downstairs bedroom. She was bouncing up and down on her bed. With each bounce, she said a syllable. "Looks! Like! We! Are! Share! Ing! A! Room!"

"You're gonna kill yourself," I chuckled. I reached up and managed to get Jamie to sit on her butt on the bed. "Calm down."

"You're no fun," Jamie teased. She kicked off her white sneakers and crossed her legs. "So," she grinned, "how do you figure you're gonna like living with me?"

"It'll be a challenge," I sighed teasingly. "You never know what you…or _Micky_, for that matter, are gonna get into."

"Come now," Jamie laughed. "I'm a good girl. I know how to take care of myself."

"Yeah," I said dryly, fanning my face to get rid of Jamie's feet stink. "How 'bout you take care of your laundry first?" Jamie pulled her sock-covered foot up to her face and took a sniff.

"I traveled," she shrugged.

The door swung open and Micky appeared, loaded down with suitcases to the point where you could no longer see his face. It was only because of the top of his frizzy mess of hair that I could tell who he was.

"Micky," Jamie sniggered, "I didn't bring that much luggage."

"This _isn't_ for you," Micky grunted. "Well, not right now, it isn't. I'm going to build you a place to actually bring your inventions to reality! This is the starter kit." I eyed the four huge cases he was carrying.

"The starter kit?" I chuckled. "It looks like the whole dang buildin' is in there." Micky put down the cases on my bed and looked out the window.

"I've always wanted to build things," he sighed dramatically. "I want to do _more_ with my life than just play the drums." With this, he planted a wet kiss on Jamie's cheek (which she immediately wiped off in the spirit of play), picked up the cases (somehow with one arm), and made a melodramatic exit, back-of-hand-on-forehead style.

"He's crazy," Jamie giggled, making a cuckoo sign around her temple with her finger.

"He's a good guy," I smiled. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get all my stuff put away."

_Jamie's POV_

I knew that Micky couldn't cook for beans. When it came to cars, faucets, chemistry sets, and SOS systems, Micky was the bees' knees. But when it came to the oven, Micky was about the least talented person on the planet.

And so it was a little strange that he wanted to fix dinner. Well, it wasn't strange, actually. Considering he hadn't seen me for half a year, it was a big deal for him.

He had always spoiled me rotten. Mom and Dad told me that when I came home from the hospital, Micky didn't want to share me with anyone. He was so overprotective that Mom had to put up a fight to even _feed_ me. Nothing changed. Micky was still very protective of his little sister. I pondered this as Micky set down a plate of…something unrecognizable in front of me. I stared at it for a while.

"Mick, I outgrew pureed food when I was a toddler," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and wrinkling my nose.

"I just don't want you to choke, is all," Micky said in falsetto while shrugging. "You're my precious baby sister."

"What about your other siblings?" I asked. "You know? Millie, Danny, Reggie, Bobby, and, of course, little five-year-old Zuzu? Don't tell me _she_ isn't your precious baby sister."

"I love you all equally," Micky sniffed before plopping down to his hot dog and chips.

When he wasn't looking, I switched our plates and took a big bite out of the hot dog. When he looked at the food I put in front of him, he dipped his finger in the green slop, showed everyone the mess on his fingertip, leaned across the table, and wiped it on my nose.

Oh.

No.

He.

Did.

_Not_.

I narrowed my eyes at him and took a handful of his chips, crunching them in my fist. Reaching across the table, I sprinkled the salty crumbs in his frizzy hair. He made some kind of indignant squeak before grabbing a fistful of his green mush and rubbing it on my cheeks. I took my glass, which was full of milk, and poured it over Micky's head. The food fight was on!

Micky tossed a green ball at me, but I smacked it and it hit Davy instead.

Davy took the ketchup bottle from the table and squirted it at me.

I managed to dodge that too.

The ketchup ended up hitting Jemima.

Jemima grimaced before sploshing her soda towards Davy.

I didn't dodge this, so I got drenched.

Kaylee managed to duck under the table, but ended up being kicked in the ribs a lot.

Mike took his salad bowl and plopped it over Peter's head.

Peter borrowed a portion of guacamole from Kaylee's plate and wiped it on Mike's shirt.

Micky and I started cat fighting instead of food fighting.

"Stop pulling my hair!"

"You stole my food!"

"The stuff you made was baby food!"

"Well, excuuuuse me!" There was a couple seconds of silence. Then, we burst out laughing. "I'm a mess," Micky guffawed.

"Me too!" I snorted.

"What say we all go get changed into our pajamas?" Mike suggested. Everyone agreed and went to their separate rooms.

_Emily's POV_

Micky booked it up the stairs and into his room, followed closely by Mike. Kaylee and I climbed the stairs more serenely. When we got into our room, I closed the door and walked over to my dresser.

"W-What are you doing?" Kaylee stammered.

"I'm getting my pajamas on," I shrugged. I took off my shoes and stuck them under my bed. Balling my socks together, I tossed them in the hamper. I started to pull down my pants, but Kaylee interrupted me.

"You're not going to get dressed in front of me, are you?" she asked shakily.

"Why not?" I replied. "You're a girl. I'm a girl. What's the problem?"

Kaylee slowly edged her way to the bathroom.

"If it's all the same," she whispered, "I'd rather change when you're done."

"You can stay in here if you want," I said, whipping out my pajamas and laying them on the bed so they'd be ready for me to put on.

"No, it's okay," Kaylee assured me before hurrying into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

_Kaylee's POV_

I sat in the bathroom waiting for Emily to be done changing. I tucked my knees up to my chest, hugging them. It was very uncomfortable, perched on that toilet, but I managed to live through it. There was a tap at the door.

"I'm done," Emily called through the wood.

"Okay," I said weakly. I climbed off the toilet and went into the bedroom.

Emily was standing in the middle of the room, staring at me. She was wearing a purple nightgown and purple socks and her dirty clothes were in the hamper. Her brown hair was tied up in a braid down her back. She gave me a look before shaking her head and walking out the door.

I quickly started changing. I stripped off my dirty paisley dress and yanked off my boots, hanging my love-beads on my bedpost. From under my pillow, I retrieved my pajamas.

When I walked out, I saw that everyone was gathered in the living room. Micky was resting his head on Jamie's lap and his feet were resting on Mike's lap. Jemima was sitting at Mike's feet, keeping herself up by supporting her body with her hands. Her feet were tucked under her in a very ladylike fashion. Emily and Davy were plunking out some funny little tune they knew from back in England at the piano.

"Where's Peter?" I asked.

At that precise moment, Peter walked out of his room, wearing orange footie pajamas with a blue bunny on the chest. My mouth fell open.

"Peter!" I exclaimed. "You kept them?" Peter looked surprised.

"Of course I kept them," he said. "You made them for me. Why wouldn't I keep them?"

I rushed down the stairs and gave Peter a huge hug, nearly bursting into tears.

"I can't believe you kept the pajamas I made you before you left home!" I cried. "That's so sweet!"

"What can you expect from someone like Peter?" Micky put in, lifting his head off Jamie's lap to see over the back of the couch. "It's in his nature to be a little brother. Heck, I've been treating him like a little brother for years!"

"Three to be exact," Jamie added.

"That reminds me," Jemima thought out loud. "Why is it that you said you haven't seen Micky for only half a year, but you've never met Mike, Peter, or Davy?"

"Because," Jamie explained, "he always came to visit home. I never had to go anywhere. Last time he came was maybe…Christmas?"

"No, I spent that with the guys," Micky corrected her. "It was Thanksgiving."

"Right!" Jamie chirped. "Because Zuzu was so excited to open her Christmas present from you early. I've never seen a little five-year-old girl be so happy to get _socks_ for Christmas."

"They were _toe_-socks!" Micky exclaimed in his own defense. "And they were pink! All five-year-old girls love pink."

"Not necessarily true, Mick," Peter replied. "I remember when Kaylee and I were little, she got this pink jumper for her birthday. She _hated_ that thing."

"I hated it because it was a jumper," I blushed. "Not because it was pink."

Peter shrugged and yawned.

"According to the Peter Clock," Mike announced, smirking, "it's getting late. Let's go to sleep. Everyone say goodnight."

"Goodnight, girls," Micky, Davy, and Peter deadpanned.

"Goodnight, boys," Jamie, Jemima, Emily, and I all returned in the same, monotone voice.

Mike gave Jemima a kiss on the forehead.

Micky gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek.

Emily and Davy hugged and Emily kissed his nose.

"I love you, sis," Peter smiled as we hugged.

"I love you too, Petey. Goodnight."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_Jemima's POV_

I was having a fabulous dream. In my dream, I was at my seventeenth birthday party back home in Texas. I remembered the day well. Mike hadn't left home yet, even though he was eighteen. And we went out horseback-riding after the shindig our parents threw for me. I remembered that two years later, Mike left. My hero was gone. I was…

THWAK!

I bolted upright in bed as something white and squishy hit me in the face. I struggled against my blankets until I managed to roll myself off my bed, with a thud, face down on the floor. I heard laughing.

"Jamie, I am gonna kill you!" I shouted, jumping up and seizing the pillow she was holding.

"You should've seen the look on your face!" Jamie cried, laughing so hard she had to cross her legs so she wouldn't pee herself. "It was absolutely hysterical!"

I yanked on the pillow harder, but she yanked back, still laughing. We played tug of war with the pillow for a while until Jamie let go. I went flying back onto my bed and crashing into the wall. This, of course, made Jamie laugh even harder. She was now crying.

The door opened and Davy appeared, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Jamie fell onto the floor, gripping her sides at the sight of Davy in his pink pajamas.

"What's going on in here?" Davy yawned. "It sounds like you've got a bunch of elephants doing one of my old dance routines."

"Jamie smacked me in the face with a pillow," I stated, pointing my finger at her. Why was I tattling on her? I was so much better than that. After all, there was really nothing Davy could do about it. They were both nineteen. And Jamie was actually older by two months, born in October. "Don't worry," I sighed. "I'll handle it."

"You sure?" Davy asked. "I can get Mike or Micky."

"I'm sure," I smiled. "I doubt Micky would do anythin' 'bout it. He'd probably just make it worse."

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Micky's voice asked from outside the doorway. Jamie jumped off her bed, squeezed past Davy and started relaying the whole story to her brother. When she was done, they both burst out laughing.

"That's totally groovy!" Micky shouted through his laughter.

"See what I mean?" I shrugged, looking at Davy. Davy nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Well, Emily's getting breakfast ready, so come out when you feel like it." We smiled at each other before Davy shut the door, leaving me in peace.

_Emily's POV_

I tied a makeshift apron (the boys didn't have any real ones) around my black-and-white striped shirt. I didn't want to get bacon grease on it. That would be a disaster. As I looked for pans, my black heels clicked on the linoleum floor.

"Morning, Emmy," Davy's voice grinned behind me.

"Morning, Davy." I turned around and gave my little brother a hug. "What's your pleasure today?" I chirped, cracking a couple eggs into a sizzling pan. "Scrambled? Over-easy? Sunny-side up?"

"Whatever you want to make," Davy chuckled, leaning on the wall.

"Well, if you're not going to help me decide what to make," I huffed playfully, "then make yourself useful. Could you start toasting some bread, please?"

"Sure," Davy smiled. He walked over to the icebox, got a loaf of bread, and cut several slices. It was quiet for a minute.

"This is just like old times," I sighed. "Remember when we used to get up at seven o'clock in the morning to make breakfast for Grandfather? He always loved that." I looked over to see Davy's reaction. But, it surprised me.

His face was stony and white. It almost looked like he was about to cry. Abandoning the eggs for a minute, I walked over and put my arm around him.

"Something wrong?" I asked gently. Davy looked at me, rested his head on my shoulder, let out a sigh, and walked back over to the toaster.

"No," he said flatly. "Nothing's wrong."

Knowing that Davy wasn't in the mood to talk about it, I dropped the subject and turned back to my eggs. Taking the spatula from the counter, I started scrambling.

_Jamie's POV_

"That was delicious!" Micky exclaimed as he pushed his chair back on two legs. He patted his stomach and licked his lips. "I don't think my stomach's ever been this content."

"And since he's a bottomless abyss," I put in, "that's saying a lot." Micky gave me a look.

"If I wasn't so full right now, I'd chase you," he said seriously. But I knew he was joking. He was always just kidding around. "So what's on tap for today?" he asked Mike.

Mike stretched and yawned. (He was still in his pajamas. Everyone was except for Emily who was a bizarre early bird and Kaylee who woke up with Emily on accident.) "I'm thinkin' the beach," he shrugged. "Paper says it's gonna be a nice day."

"FUN!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. I raced into my bedroom to get changed.

Running over to my dresser, I yanked open the drawer and scanned my clothes. I dug in, flinging articles of clothing all over the floor. Jemima walked in calmly.

"What are you doin'?" she questioned dryly.

"Making a mess," I grinned. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?"

Jemima shrugged and went to her own dresser for her clothes. I continued my search.

Finally, I found what I wanted. I laid out my clothes on my bed to take a last look at them. I had chosen a blue-and-white polka-dot swimsuit and a light, windbreaker-ish skirt to go over it. It wouldn't matter if it got wet because it was waterproof to some extent. Changing into the clothes, I brushed the tangles out of my ponytails, grabbed a towel, and walked out into the living room.

When everyone was ready, we headed out to the beach. The first thing I did was shove my towel into Micky's arms.

"Hold this," I commanded him. "Guard it with your life." Before he could say yes or no, I rushed off to the water and dove in, headfirst.

The water swirled around me and it felt good. It was rather hot outside and the cool water rinsed off all the sweat. I had a feeling that after working on inventions for a while, taking a dip would be very nice. I came up for air and waddled my way over to Micky.

"Gimme," I said simply, snatching my towel from him. I patted myself dry.

"When did you get all those scabs?" Micky gasped, pointing at my knees. I looked down at my legs. Indeed, the salt water had made my crop of scars on my knees turn bright red. They were starting to itch too.

"Oh," I shrugged, "nothing special. I just was working on my last invention on the driveway. You know how gravely that driveway is."

"Didn't you wear pants?" Micky grimaced. "Or at least a longer skirt?"

"You should know that I don't wear long skirts," I chuckled. "They don't give me enough freedom and legroom. With shorts and mini-skirts, I can go anywhere I want." Micky opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind.

"You're weird," he informed me instead.

"You're weird_er_," I mocked him.

"Oh yeah?" In one fluent movement, he had me in a headlock and was giving me a noogie. "How 'bout now? Am I weirder now?"

"Yes!" I giggled, pulling at his arm. "Lemme go, you long-haired weirdo!"

_Kaylee's POV_

"Hey, Kaylee," Peter called, "wanna go grab some ice cream with me?"

I pulled my eyes away from Micky and Jamie's playing to look at Peter. He was wearing a maroon swimsuit ensemble: jacket and trunks.

"Sure," I smiled. I walked over and took his hand. "But I pay for it."

"But I want to pay for it," Peter argued. "I have the money."

"But I'm the older sister," I argued back. "It's my job to take care of you and spoil you rotten."

"But I'm the boy," he pointed out. "I'm supposed to be chivalrous and pay for the girl."

"We're not dating," I laughed. "We're family, Petey. I wanna pay for it." We argued back and forth until we got to the ice cream stand. I reached into the beach purse Emily lent me and pulled out my wallet.

"Put that away," Peter demanded. "I'm paying."

"No," I pouted.

"Fine," Peter sighed. "You buy for me and I buy for you." I thought about it for a minute before shaking his hand.

"It's a deal," I giggled. When we got to the front of the line, the ice cream man regarded us nicely.

"Hello," he smiled. "What can I get for you two?"

"I want a chocolate double scoop with marshmallows for my sister," Peter grinned.

I was too busy blushing at the thought of being judged by the ice cream man to speak. Peter grabbed my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"A-And a mint-chip with a cherry on top f-for my brother," I stammered.

The man didn't seem to notice my stuttering. He smiled good-naturedly and fixed our ice cream cones. When he was done, he handed the cones to Peter and me.

"That'll be fifty cents," he said. Peter dug out a quarter from his pocket and I took out one of my quarters from Emily's beach purse. We plopped the coins on the counter. "Have a great day," the ice cream man beamed as we walked away, eating our delicious treats.

. . . .

Later that night, Emily and I were lying in bed. The house was dark and the only light present was the light of the moon outside our window. I heard her roll over in bed.

"Kaylee?" I heard Emily whisper. "Kaylee, are you asleep?"

"No," I whispered back. "What's up?" There was a moment of silence.

"I think Davy is hiding something from me," she mumbled. "Something important. Whenever I bring up our grandfather, he gets all quiet and doesn't want to talk."

"I wouldn't worry about it," I frowned. "He probably just misses him. I missed my parents like crazy when I moved out and I was only a few miles away from them. Imagine how Davy feels being across an ocean from his family."

"I guess," Emily sighed. "Thanks, Kaylee. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Emily," I smiled. "I hope I helped."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_Kaylee's POV_

The next morning, I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. The sun creeping in the window was resting on my face, warming my eyelids. I was about to stretch and yawn, eyes still closed, when I heard something strange. It sounded like someone was laying bricks outside the window.

I slowly opened my eyes. Emily was sleeping soundly, even though a worried expression was on her face. My heart bled for her. She really was worried about Davy. I could feel her pain, though. Whenever Peter got made fun of on the playground at school for being "the dummy," I felt like someone had driven a stake through my own heart.

I shuffled my way to the window, grabbing a robe on the way. It was a bit chilly this morning, so I covered my shoulders before lifting up the window and looking out.

The salty air smelled great that morning. It was cool, but not too cool. A better word for the temperature was brisk. I looked down to see Micky, kneeling on the ground with a brick in one hand and a hammer in the other. He put the brick in place and gave it a whack, which missed.

"YEOW!" he squealed. "DAMMIT, YOU LOUSY FOUNDATION!"

I quickly shut the window and put on some slippers. I rushed down the stairs as fast as I could and hurried outside.

"Micky, are you okay?" I asked, running over to him. I put my hand on his back to let him know I was there.

"Owowow," Micky mumbled to himself, sticking his afflicted fingers in his mouth.

"Believe it or not, that's not going to help you much," I smirked. "You'll need some ice for that one." I helped him up and took him back inside.

Filling a large glass with water, I put in a couple ice cubes and set it on the table. Micky sat down and put his hand in the glass immediately. A look of relief washed over his face.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"No problem," I shrugged. "What were you doing out there?" Micky looked around a couple times before leaning towards me.

"I'm starting to build Jamie's secret lab," he whispered. "Her home away from home. Don't tell her, okay?"

"Oh, my lips are sealed," I nodded, smiling. "But, how are you going to keep her from noticing it until you're done? She's a lot more perceptive than you give her credit for."

"I'm going to cover it with a sheet," Micky grinned as if that was the best plan in the world.

"A sheet?" I asked. "Are you sure that's the best idea?" Micky nodded before getting up, taking the glass of ice water with him.

"Well, I've got to get back to work. I don't want Jamie to wake up to a half-finished foundation." He was about to leave when I put my hand on his shoulder.

"One suggestion," I said. "Use cement instead of just banging the bricks together. You'll end up with a better result." Micky thought about it for a minute and then grinned.

"Thanks. You're pretty smart for Peter's sister."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," I smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Go get to work now."

_Jemima's POV_

The Brothers had a gig that night. So they spent most of the day practicing in the alcove despite the fact that Micky kept sneaking out into the side yard between songs. It was kind of hard to practice without him seeing as he was the one that sang most of the time.

Since The Brothers were practicing all day, this left the rest of The Sisters and me to our own devices. Jamie was dancing around to the rehearsal with Emily. Those two had a budding friendship and it was very cute to watch. Kaylee was off doing Kaylee things. No one asked her what she was doing because we knew she'd be okay whatever it was. And me? I was busy in my room, strumming the one instrument I ever learned how to play: the ukulele.

I remembered that Mike taught me the fundamentals, like the chords, octaves, and that kind of thing. But, mainly, I taught myself how to play songs. Mike was a good brother. He didn't get in the way of my life, but he pushed in enough to show that he cared. And that's why the argument happened.

"You and Mike sure don't act like family," Jamie said as we were getting ready to go to the club with The Brothers that night.

"What are you talkin' about?" I asked. "We act like family just fine."

"Pfft," Jamie laughed, "I don't think so. Do you remember when we first got here? Micky and I hugged right when we saw each other. So did Emily and Davy and Kaylee and Peter. You and Mike, like, _conversed_ before you hugged."

"So?" I shrugged, slipping off my shoes and putting on some slightly fancier ones. "That's just the way we are."

"It's _weird_," Jamie argued. "Brothers and sisters are supposed to love each other like crazy. With you two, it's like he's your _father_ instead of your brother."

I thought about what she said. Mike kinda _was_ my father, in a way. I loved Daddy. I really did. But when I was a little girl, he always told me to be strong in maybe the gruffest way. Mike always told me that little girls didn't have to worry about being tough until they turned twelve. It was nice to have a deadline for all my childish cry-fests and not have to stop them immediately.

"You don't understand," I huffed quietly, running a brush through my hair.

"You bet I don't," Jamie huffed back. "The least he could do is show he cared about you even one bit." That was it. She hit a nerve with that one.

"HE DOES CARE!" I shouted, whirling around and getting right in Jamie's face. "HE CARES A LOT! MAYBE HE'S NOT EXACTLY THE KIND OF BROTHER MICKY IS, BUT HE'S _MY_ BROTHER AND I WOULDN'T TRADE HIM FOR THE REST OF THE DAMN WORLD! SO BACK OFF AND SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU DON'T KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU DO! YOU DON'T KNOW IT ALL, JAMIE DOLENZ!"

"WELL, I DO KNOW THAT HE ISN'T TREATING YOU THE RIGHT WAY FOR A BROTHER!" Jamie screamed back. "BROTHERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE KIND AND LOVING! THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY _SHOW_ THEY CARE!"

"Mike _does_," I growled, "show that he cares."

"Prove it," Jamie scowled at me.

"I don't have to," I spat. "I don't have to do anythin' I don't want to."

"You're just saying that because you know you're wrong," Jamie scoffed.

"No." I bit my lip. It was getting harder and harder not to slap her in the face. "I'm sayin' that because I know I'm right. There's no point in me explainin' when I'm right." I quoted a song I had heard a while back. "'Fools give you reasons. Wise men never try.'"

Jamie glared at me, but turned away and stalked out of the room. For a few minutes, I just sat on my bed. I felt like I was going to cry, but I couldn't. Finally, a single tear slid down my cheek and landed on my knee. I felt someone sit next to me.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked. He put his arm around me and I leaned on his shoulder. Without any explanation, I started sobbing. He rubbed my back for a while, but when I showed no signs of stopping, he pulled me away and looked me straight in the face. "Hey, hey, hey," he said softly. "Easy there, Jemima." Hearing him say my name made me cry even harder. "Jemima, you're twenty-three years old. It's time to be strong and stop cryin'. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?

"I'm fine," I managed to squeak. Mike gave me a look.

"I've seen you when you're fine," he said. "I'm pretty sure this isn't it." He grabbed a tissue from the box on my nightstand and started dabbing my face dry. "Is it what Jamie said? About me not bein' a good brother?" My head snapped up and I looked at him with wonder.

"How…?"

"She and Micky were talkin' about it this afternoon," Mike cut me off. "They're not exactly discreet." So he heard it too?

"Doesn't that…?"

"Yeah, it's makes me mad," Mike shrugged, cutting me off again. "Well…annoyed, more than mad. _I_ know that I treat you right. And _you_ know that I treat you right. So why should it matter if anyone else thinks otherwise?" He paused for a second. "You _do_ think I treat you right, don't you?"

"Of course," I assured him. "They don't know how far we go back. You made my life livable when Daddy started drinkin'."

Mike smiled in relief. I knew that smile. It was the smile he made when Mom said he didn't a have to take that apartment in Dallas when he turned eighteen if he didn't want to. It was the smile he made when Daddy threw away all the full alcohol bottles in the house. It was the smile he made when I broke up with my motorcycle-gang-leader boyfriend. I knew he cared. I knew it.

_Jamie's POV_

I couldn't believe that Jemima had yelled at me. I was only making a valid point that Mike didn't exactly treat her like family. It was like they were coworkers or something.

But that wasn't something to be thinking about at the moment. I was too busy dancing to be upset. As The Monkees played on the bandstand, I danced around like crazy. It made me happy. Whenever I was upset, I always tried moving around. Getting my blood pumping was my number one way of cheering up my angry mood.

"'Scuse me," someone behind me said, tapping my shoulder. "Wanna dance with me?"

I turned around. The guy looked to be around twenty-one or twenty-two. He had crazy red hair that frizzed out all over the place and electric green eyes. All-in-all, he looked a little bit like Micky only colored different.

"Sure!" I grinned. We started dancing together.

"Who, might I ask, am I enjoying the company of?" the guy smirked. He twirled me around him and dipped me before I could answer.

"Jamie," I flirted. "My brother is the drummer up there." I nodded to the band. The guy looked impressed. "And you are?"

"My name's Christian," the guy replied, spinning me again. We started doing a bunch of very professional-looking swing-dance moves. "You're a good dancer," Christian complimented. "Did you study?"

"Not really," I laughed. "I just love dancing. I got a lot of practice." Christian laughed too.

"I guess losing your legs would be a bit of a problem."

"Yeah," I giggled. "But I don't see _that_ in my future." We danced for a while longer until the song ended and we applauded with the crowd.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Christian grinned, walking me over to the bar.

"I'm underage," I blushed. "Sorry."

"How old are you?" he asked as he leaned on the bar. He looked very at home, like he drank at a bar every day of his life.

"Nineteen," I replied.

"Just one drink won't hurt," Christian shrugged. He slapped the counter. "Bartender, get me a margarita, rocks, no salt. And can I get a strawberry wine cooler for the gal? Make it small. She's a novice."

The bartender fixed our drinks and set them in front of us. Christian took a sip of his drink, holding the glass like he definitely knew what he was doing. I wondered if he was an alcoholic. But his tastes seemed too refined. Besides, he wasn't using words like "booze," or "scotch," or "vodka." I picked up my drink and put it to my lips.

"JAMIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Micky spazzed as he jumped off the bandstand. He rushed over to me and snatched the drink out of my hand. "You know you're underage!"

"But, Micky," I protested. "I was just…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Micky exclaimed. He turned around to Christian. "And who exactly are _you_?" he snarled.

"Hey, man, cool it," Christian shrugged, taking another sip of his margarita. "I'm Christian. I was dancing with your sister. I meant no harm."

"Christian, huh?" Micky scoffed, his temper starting to rise. "Well buying illegal alcohol for little girls and trying to get them drunk is not exactly what I'd call _Christian_."

"Micky," I said quietly, "he was just being nice."

"How do _you_ know that?!" Micky shouted at me. "How do you know that he wasn't trying to get you drunk so he could take advantage of you?!"

"I think it's best if I leave," Christian sighed, downing the rest of his margarita and reaching towards me. "It was nice meeting you, Jamie. I hope to see you around sometime." Micky smacked his hand away.

"Don't you _dare_ touch her!" he threatened. Christian shrugged, turned around, and walked out of the club. Micky turned to me and grabbed my wrist. "We'll talk about this when we get home," he snarled. "In the meantime, _you_ go sit with Kaylee."

_Emily's POV_

After we got home from the club, I couldn't sleep. For one thing, Micky and Jamie were having a scream-fest downstairs, arguing about that guy who Jamie was dancing with at the club. For another thing, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that Davy was hiding something from me. I needed to find out what it was.

I rolled over to see Kaylee's face, lit up by the moonlight. She was sleeping peacefully. I didn't know how she did it. But then, I saw the pink earplugs in her ears. That would do it. I kicked off my blankets and walked to the door.

Thankfully, the Dolenzes were having their fight in Jamie's bedroom. Jemima was sleeping out on the couch, snoring softly. I trekked down the stairs and knocked on Davy and Peter's bedroom door. I waited for a few seconds before I walked in.

Davy was sitting on his bed, staring out the window. He didn't seem to notice that I was in the room until I cleared my throat.

"Davy?" I said quietly. His head snapped in my direction. "We need to talk. Get a jacket. We're going to walk on the beach."

"Alright," Davy sighed. He grabbed a light coat and we walked outside. "What do we need to talk about?" Davy asked once we were on the beach.

"What's wrong?" I said simply. "Why do you get this look whenever I talk about Grandfather?" The look crept back to Davy's face.

"I don't want to talk about it," he sighed.

"Too bad," I frowned sternly. "Davy, I'm worried about you. We need to talk about it." He didn't say anything. "Just tell me what's wrong," I whispered, rubbing his arm. "I'm your big sister. You can tell me anything."

For a while, he was quiet. I could only hear the crashing of the waves and the Dolenzes still fighting in the house. Finally, Davy spoke.

"I'm worried about him. Grandfather, that is."

"Why?" I asked.

"I saw a program on TV about how older people are dying sooner than they used to," Davy sniffed. "I don't want that to happen to him. I want to see him again before he dies." This time, I was quiet. Then, I turned Davy towards me and gave him a big hug.

"He's not going to die soon," I told him. "You know Grandfather. He's the strongest man in the world. He lived through the war. He's told both you and me that a million times."

"I know," Davy laughed half-heartedly. "Still, I'm just a little worried."

"Don't be," I smiled. "He'll survive. When I go back to England, why don't you come with me for a little while to see him?" Davy's face brightened.

"I'd like that," he grinned.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_Jamie's POV_

It had been about one and a half months since the night I met Christian. Micky and I didn't stop fighting until a week later, but when we did, he went right back into his normal Big Brother mode. For the last two weeks, he had been disappearing into the side yard for hours on end. Kaylee always made sure I was super busy when he disappeared.

One day, I was eating some cornflakes by myself in the kitchen. Micky wandered in, whistling, his hands behind his back. I put down my spoon.

"What's up, bro?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Oh nothing," Micky sighed airily, looking inside cabinets and drawers.

"Hmm," I hummed, taking a sip of my orange juice. When I put the glass down, Micky whipped out a blindfold and covered my eyes. I squealed. "Micky, what are you doing?"

"It's a surprise," Micky teased. "Just go where I push you and you won't run into a wall."

"Translation," I chuckled. "Go the _opposite_ of where you tell me and I won't run into a wall."

"Oh ha, ha," Micky sarcastically laughed. "Very funny. You really should be a comedian because I'm just splitting my sides." We took a stiff left and I heard a door opening. "We're almost there. Just a few more steps, Squirt."

When we stopped walking, Micky untied the blindfold and took it away from my eyes. It took me a couple seconds to adjust to the sudden light. When I could see, I was astounded.

A one-and-one-half story brick building was sitting in the far corner of the side yard. There was only one window in the front and it was part of the thick, wood door.

"What's this?" I said, turning to Micky.

"It's the SSLOS," he grinned. "Special Secret Lab for Outstanding Sisters. I built it myself." He looked so proud of himself. He was leaning back on the wall of the main house, eyes closed and silly grin on his face.

"You built me a laboratory?" I squealed, trying to keep myself from screaming with happiness. "For my inventions?" Micky nodded. "I LOVE YOU!" I screamed, running at him and giving him a big bear hug. "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!" I ran inside to investigate.

There was a rope hanging from the ceiling. When I pulled it, a ladder came down. I climbed up and looked around. There wasn't another room, but there was a little crawlspace, perfect for storage. I climbed back down and continued to look around. There was some great shelf-space on the walls and boxes of raw materials under the counters. I ran inside, grabbed my notebook, and ran back, slamming the door behind me.

_Emily's POV_

"So here's the lowdown for today," Mike announced after lunch. Jamie hadn't come out of her new laboratory since around eleven-thirty.

It was pretty funny, actually. She came running through the house yelling, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" When we asked her what was wrong, she called behind her as she ran up the stairs, "I HAVE TO PEE!"

"We're gonna to go shoppin' for you girls," Mike continued.

"Just because we're good brothers like that," Micky grinned. We got ready and trekked out to Jamie's lab. Micky knocked on the door. "We're going shopping, Squirt. You coming?"

"You guys go ahead," Jamie called from within. "I'm gonna work on my sock-sorter for a couple of hours."

"Okay," Micky shrugged. We all walked to the car, dubbed by the guys as "The Monkeemobile," and climbed in.

Mike drove while Micky rode shotgun. Peter and Kaylee sat in the middle seats. Davy, Jemima, and I sat in the back. We chatted aimlessly about random things as we drove to the mall. When we finally got there, Micky, like the big ham he was, helped Kaylee, Jemima, and me out of the car with little comments about what lovely ladies we were.

"I'm too old for you," Jemima teased. "Don't even try."

"You're only two years older than me," Micky pleaded dramatically. "Just give me a chance, oh fair Jemima Nesmith!" He thought for a second. "Then again, I'd be Mike's brother-in-law." He made a face.

"Alright, Mick, knock it off," Mike smirked, climbing out of the car.

Together, we walked through the parking lot and into the mall. The shopping spree began.

Kaylee decided to buy a new hairbrush. One day, she had a massive rats' nest in her hair and broke off several bristles on her old brush. Jemima was in the market for some records and a ukulele string. She and Mike headed off to Henson's to get their shopping done. Davy, Micky, and I were all looking for new clothes.

We hung out at the mall for several hours. Everyone got what they wanted or needed and it was around five o'clock when we headed home.

_Jemima's POV_

"That was fun!" Micky exclaimed as we pulled up to the house. We all climbed out of the car, talking about how much fun we had.

Then, we heard a huge explosion! Hot air blasted us in the face as a brick sailed over the roof of the main house. It landed at Micky's feet. He stared at it for a minute.

"Oh no," he whimpered. "JAMIE!" He started running around the corner of the house and the rest of us followed.

My heart jumped to my throat when we rounded the corner. A pile of bricks and twisted sheet metal was all that remained of Jamie's lab. Dust was still settling from the explosion. Mike wrapped his arms around me, protecting me from any flying debris.

"JAMIE!" Micky screamed, running to the pile. He started digging through the bricks, throwing them over his shoulder. "SQUIRT! JAMIE! HOLD ON, JAMIE! JUST…JUST HOLD ON! I'M COMING!" He finally stopped shouting and hunched over. Micky stood up and turned around. He was absolutely silent. In his arms, he held the unmoving body of his little sister, the closest thing to a best friend that I ever had.

"Oh my God," Emily whispered, covering her mouth. Davy bowed his head. Kaylee started to sob. Peter cried too.

"Go call an ambulance," Mike told me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_Kaylee's POV_

He looked scared…scared and sad. I didn't like seeing him all hunched up like that. It scared me that he might be dying too. But it was his sister lying there on that hospital bed. It was his sister hooked up to all those cold, unfeeling machines.

"Micky?" I whispered softly, knocking on the open door. He turned his head towards me and I saw that he had been crying. His eyes were red and puffy and his nose was red too from wiping the runniness away. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to me, his head hung in sorrow. "Micky, it'll be okay," I promised him. "Jamie's not going to die."

"I wish that was true," Micky sighed, almost silently. "The doctor says that her ribs are nearly shattered completely." He paused, taking deep, but choppy breaths. "She's almost gone." Another pause. "God, this is all my fault." Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"Aw," I sniffled. I put my arms around his neck and gave him a loving hug. "It's not your fault. It was an accident."

"I wasn't there for her immediately. I could've run faster," Micky cried softly. "I could've hit the ground running as soon as I heard the explosion. I should've known not to leave her all by herself in a laboratory." I hugged him tighter.

"Don't say it's your fault, Micky," I comforted. "You can't see the future. You didn't know what was going to happen."

"I would've saved her life," Micky mumbled, burying his head in my shoulder. Instinctively, as an older sister, I ran my hand through Micky's hair.

"Come on," I sighed. "Let's go to the car." Without a fight, Micky went out into the hall with me and we traveled down the elevator to the lobby together. "Jemima?" I called. Her head shot up. "Your turn."

_Jemima's POV_

"So this is what you're like when you're quiet," I said the motionless body of my soon-to-be ex-best friend. I tried laughing to lighten the mood, but it made me feel worse. "Jamie, I just wanted you to know that you are the closest thing to a best friend I've ever had." I reached out and took her hand.

It was cold, clammy, and stiff. Her face looked almost serene even thought she had a black eye from a brick and bruised cheeks from falling face-down on the ground. I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand.

"Micky's gonna miss you tons," I whispered. "But I bet you already knew that." I felt my heart jump up in my throat. Tears stung the insides of my eyes. "He's not the only one." I leaned my head on the hospital bed and started crying. I choked and then the tears starting flowing harder.

I looked at the work the doctors had tried to do. They bandaged Jamie's chest up, trying to keep the broken ribs in place so they wouldn't puncture her lungs or heart. Both her legs were broken by a falling support beam.

When the explosion happened, everything came down. It took Jamie with it.

Suddenly, I heard a rustle. My head shot up and I looked. Jamie's head had changed position and her big, brown eyes were open. I leapt up from my seat and screamed.

"OH MY GOD!" I shouted. "JAMIE! ARE YOU REALLY ALIVE?"

"Of course I'm alive," Jamie laughed weakly. She felt the pain in her chest and grimaced. "Since when did you get so loud? I thought I was the loud one."

"JAMIE!" I cried. I wanted to hug her, but I knew that doing that might hurt her. Instead, I jumped up and down like an idiot.

"What?" she asked, half-irritably and half out of honest confusion. "A girl can't explode her lab without everyone taking her to the hospital and all that stuff?"

Suddenly, I was mad at her. Why was she being so cheerful? She almost died!

"Jamie, how can you be so happy?" I snapped. "You could've been gone! You could've been dead! Do you realize how much our lives would have changed without you? Why are you laughin'?!" Jamie grimaced again as her ribs shifted in her chest. She stopped her laughing, but smiled. Her black eye and bruised cheeks didn't seem to faze her at all.

"Why shouldn't I be laughing?" she asked. "I lived, didn't I? Any way I can get out of this joint? I had a great idea for an explosive-safe material before the lab caved in."

"JAMIE!" I exclaimed. "YOUR LEGS ARE BROKEN! YOUR RIBS ARE SHATTERED! HOW CAN YOU BE SO RELAXED?"

"Because, Jemima," Jamie shrugged, "if I get in a bad mood, I'm going to want to dance. I can't dance right now, so I'm trying to stay in a good mood until I heal."

My anger melted into excitement again and I apologized for my behavior. Then, I rushed down the stairs (I was to hyper to take the elevator) and ran into the lobby.

"JAMIE'S ALIVE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The receptionist gave me a look, but she smiled when she realized what I was talking about.

"SHE IS?!" Micky exclaimed. He jumped up and spun me around, dipping me. We started to dance, right there in the hospital lobby. The other Brothers and Sisters hugged, cried, and celebrated too.

_Jamie's POV_

"SQUIRT!" Micky's voice shouted from the hall. I smiled to hear him. He burst into the room. I'd never seen him so happy before. He looked at me with shining eyes before running over and hugging me. I felt a stinging pain in my chest.

"Ooch," I grimaced. "Micky, let go. You're hurting me."

"Sorry!" he cried, letting me go immediately. He grabbed my hand and kissed my cheek over and over and over again. "Oh my God! I thought I lost you! I'm never leaving you alone ever again!"

"That's gonna be a pain," I smirked. "How am I gonna go to the bathroom with you there?" Micky pulled back, making a thinking face.

"Well, of course," he said quietly, "there _will_ be exceptions." I giggled and looked over to my nightstand.

"Hey, Mick, would you mind handing me that newspaper on the table?" I smiled. Micky got up and retrieved the paper. I opened to the Entertainment section and scanned the columns.

"Um, Jamie?" Micky interrupted quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a movie to go see," I shrugged. "It's so boring here. I want to get out and about again."

"But…" Micky argued.

"Lookie here!" I exclaimed, pointing at an entry in the newspaper. "They're showing _20,000 Leagues under the Sea_ at the local theatre! I _love_ sci-fi movies!"

"Jamie…"

"I read that book in school one time. It was really boring, but I bet the movie is ten times better without all that description."

"But, Jamie…"

"I think my favorite character in that book was Captain Nemo. I wonder how the Nautilus will look on the big screen."

"Jamie, you can't…"

"Ooh! Wouldn't it be groovy to live under the sea? Think of all those cool fish you could see in their natural habitat!"

"Jamie, you can't leave," Micky spat out quickly. "You're really injured. The doctors won't let you out." I paused for a minute, my heart falling a bit. But, I pulled it back up and slapped a smile back on my face.

"Oh well," I shrugged. "Maybe I can get a TV in here and watch one of those old movies like we used to watch when we were kids, huh, Micky? What about _It's a Wonderful Life_ or _Sabrina_?"

"Well, I'm glad you're taking this so well," Micky smiled. "Tell you what. Me and the others are gonna head home. I'll take you up on that movie offer tomorrow, okay?"

"Okiedokie!" I chirped. "See you tomorrow." Micky leaned down and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"I love you, Squirt," he whispered.

"I love you too, Mick," I grinned.

_Emily's POV_

The ride home was quiet. But, it was a happy silence. When we had driven to the hospital to check on Jamie, it was a sad quiet. Everyone was nervous about if Jamie was dead or dying. Now that we knew she was okay, it was easier to relax, especially for Micky. He hadn't slept for nearly two days. As we drove back to the pad, he fell fast asleep on Kaylee's shoulder. (Peter was riding shotgun this time.)

I yawned. The big scare and the stress had made me pretty exhausted as well. I looked over and Micky and Kaylee. They weren't aware of it, but they made a pretty cute couple. Kaylee was playing with Micky's hair as she too started to nod off. If they decided to date, no one would think it was a bad idea.

My eyelids started getting heavier. I slunk down in my seat and rested my head on Davy's shoulder, drawing my feet behind me so I was curled up in a little ball. I felt Davy put his arm around my waist. I shut my eyes all the way and let out a sigh. Slowly, I floated out of consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_Jamie's POV_

Several weeks passed and every day, the girls and the boys came to visit me. Micky's visits were especially entertaining. He would always buy popcorn and Cokes from the gas station and we'd watch a movie on TV. Usually, we watched sci-fi or horror films, but there were occasions when we watched a romance. (Micky and I both made fun of those movies all the way through.)

Kaylee and Peter's visits were second most-interesting. While Micky was buying the popcorn and soda, they picked out a small bouquet of flowers to bring to me. Peter said that just-white was a very boring color and that I needed something to match my personality, which Kaylee described as "vibrant." So, usually, the flowers were red daisies, pink tulips, orange chrysanthemums, blue morning glories, and purple roses. Beyond that, Kaylee knitted me a lovely lime-green-and-lemon-yellow wool hat. Peter joked that she got the idea from Mike.

Then, Emily and Davy made a special effort to help me get well. According to Peter, they would spend all day arguing in the kitchen about what they were going to make me. Emily said that hospital food was despicable and that a refined pallet like mine needed gourmet cooking. During my first week at the hospital, my dinners (cooked and served by the Joneses) included a delicious chicken dish (served with green beans and mashed potatoes with made-from-scratch chocolate pudding), honey-roasted ham (served with peas and corn with pear slices for dessert), and even shrimp cocktail (sauce impressively made by Emily's talented hands). Emily was the chef, Davy was the waiter, and Micky was the snitch. All-in-all, my dining IQ was raised about twenty points and my snitching techniques were sharpened.

Finally, there was Mike and Jemima. For the first two weeks, they didn't visit. For a while, I thought that they had forgotten about me, crippled in a hospital bed. Turns out, they were concocting a brilliant scheme. Mike had written a guitar-and-ukulele duet, words and all, about me. The song told of a smart girl who "blew the world sky-high and upside down." She hurt herself by "flying too high," but she survived with the help of her valuable friends and her wit and intellect. Obviously, I loved it.

I was lying in bed one day, eating leftovers from last night's Emily-Masterpiece for lunch, smelling my especially-vibrant violets, and whistling the bridge of my song while checking the TV guide for a good movie, when the nurse walked in. She was followed by Micky, who stood awkwardly in the doorway as the pretty nurse pushed in a wheelchair.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at them critically. I was sure I was a beautiful sight. I hadn't showered in a month and my hair was frizzing up like Micky's because of the humidifier the doctor had plugged into my room several days ago. Most of the bruises on my face had healed, but the black eye had now turned that gross yellow-pink color.

"Can I help you?" I asked, setting down my TV guide and plastic fork.

"You bet you can," the nurse chirped. "You can hop into that wheelchair, let me help change you into your clothes, and let your brother take you home." My heart nearly stopped.

"Are you serious?" I breathed, sitting up.

The month I had spent in the hospital had done my shattered ribs a world of good. If I hunched over too much, I got a stiff feeling in my chest, but other than that, my legs were the only things unhealed. They were still in thick, white casts. However, the boys and girls colored them with markers to make them look better. So technically, they were thick, orange, yellow, green, blue, red, and purple casts.

"Serious as a case of the plague," the nurse giggled. "Little hospital joke."

"Ha, ha," I said dryly, raising an eyebrow. The nurse didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm about her joke. She nodded to Micky. Micky quickly walked over to me, scooped me out of the hospital bed (which I was sure I'd left a permanent imprint on) and set me in the wheelchair.

_Emily's POV_

"JAMIE!" Jemima squealed as Micky wheeled the invalid into the pad. She ran over to her and gave her a hug. Jamie grimaced a little bit, but didn't say anything about it.

"How do you feel?" Peter asked as Kaylee gave hugs to Jamie and Micky. I noticed she lingered just slightly on Micky, but I thought nothing of it. She was probably just close to him because of those nights they spent talking about Jamie.

"I feel great," Jamie smiled, "for someone who can't use her legs."

"Well," Micky sighed, "the doctors say that you should be able to get the casts off in a couple months. You're lucky that support beam didn't smash your bones to pieces. There're some major fractures, but it's nothing time can't heal, I guess."

"It's a good thing my room isn't up on the second floor," Jamie grinned. "I'd be screwed."

"Emily's got a big dinner cooking tonight," Davy announced. "You know, since Jamie's come home and everything."

"Sounds delicious," Jamie winked. I felt my face flush. "Too bad I'll have to spend all my time fighting Micky off instead of enjoying it."

"Oh," I blushed, "I don't know if it's all _that_ good. It's a new recipe."

"If the meals you served…ahem…_Davy_ served and _you_ prepared are any indication," Jamie chuckled, "this knew recipe will be tastier than a hot pepperoni-sausage-black olive pizza." She leaned in to whisper to me confidentially. "That's me and Micky's favorite."

"You're probably super tired," Peter thought out loud. "Do you want to go take a nap in your room?"

"Pshaw!" Jamie and Micky exclaimed at the same time.

"I was so bored at that hospital!" Jamie groaned, smacking her forehead, avoiding the remains of her black eye. "Right now, all I want to do is go to the beach."

"But, your wheelchair…" Kaylee started.

"Forget the wheelchair," Jamie shrugged. "Micky can carry me and I'll just sit and smell the air. Maybe make a few sand castles! Heck! With all this pent up energy, I'd build a sand kingdom! Hey! That's a great idea! Who wants to help?"

"I do!" Kaylee and Peter shouted together.

"We'll help too," Jemima grinned, grabbing onto Mike's hand. Mike didn't look too eager to play in the sand, but his expression said that he would do it for Jamie, Jemima, Kaylee, and Peter.

"How 'bout you, Emmy?" Davy asked. I thought for a minute.

"I really should get dinner started," I sighed. There was a collective groan from the group. "But I'll be out as soon as I get it in the oven," I said quickly. "I promise." I smiled gently and kissed Davy on the cheek. "You go have fun, guys. I'll be out in a minute."

_Jemima's POV_

As Emily tied the old apron around her waist, the rest of us ran outside…well, with the exception of Jamie, who was being carried by Micky. But, he was running, so it sort of counted. He ended up dumping her about a yard and a half from the water so if high tide ended up coming, she wouldn't get her casts wet. And with that, we started building Jamie's "sand kingdom."

"I'll tell you something, Jemima," Jamie smiled as she piled some wet sand onto the royal car garage. "You've really lightened up from when I met you."

"Thanks…I think."

"It's a compliment," Jamie grinned. "I promise. When I met you, you were such a stick-in-the-mud. Didn't want me to be loud. Didn't want me to jump up and down on the bed."

"I still don't want you to do those things," I laughed. "I just trust you more."

"What's not to trust?" Jamie smirked, holding her arms out. I took in her broken legs, slightly munched chest, and yellow-pink bruises.

"Right," I said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "You blew yourself up."

"It was an _accident_," Jamie frowned teasingly. "Ever had one?"

"Never where I seriously scared my friends and family," I teased back.

"Hey, what are best friends for?" Jamie retorted, grinning. I stopped for a second, looking at Jamie strangely. "What?"

"Did…Did you just say I was your best friend?"

"Um…Yeah," Jamie shrugged. "I wasn't completely conked out when you came to talk to me…or to what you believed to be a corpse."

"Oh," I said, smiling. "Okay. You're my best friend too."

"I know that," Jamie grinned, going back to her wet sand.

_Kaylee's POV_

We hung out at the beach all day long. It was a bunch of fun. After Emily got the food cooking, she came down in her adorable little swimsuit and collected shells down by the shoreline. She found some really pretty ones and brought them back to decorate the sand kingdom. I really had a blast and I was pretty sure everyone else did as well.

When it got a bit darker, Emily said it was time to go back and have dinner. It was delicious, like Jamie said it would be, and even more. I was very content that day.

Everyone had gone to sleep. I was the only one awake. Sure, I was in my pajamas, but I was still milling around quietly, trying not to wake anyone up. Slowly, I walked outside to the beach. It was so dark and peaceful. The seagulls were sleeping. All I could hear was the waves. My hair whipped around my face. I knew it was tangling, but I could get those knots out in the shower in the morning.

"Hey," said a soft voice behind me. I turned around.

"Hey, Micky," I smiled. "What's got you up tonight? Still worried about Jamie?"

"Heh, heh," Micky laughed nervously. "No. Not really. What's eating _you_?"

"Oh, I'm just not tired," I shrugged. "I've had insomnia for the last couple weeks."

"Jamie?" Micky asked.

"Of course," I giggled. "So, if it's not Jamie that's got you up and pacing, what is it?" Micky was silent for a few seconds. He bit his lip and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Are you cold?" he finally asked. Before I could answer, he whipped off his windbreaker and put it around my shoulders.

"Thanks," I smiled. "It was getting a bit chilly." There was another silence. I could tell by Micky's facial expression that he found it awkward. "What's the matter, Mick?" I whispered, putting my hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Micky grinned, his voice cracking. "Why wouldn't I be okay? Everything's fine and dandy with me. Yep! One of those nothing-goes-wrong days. Absolutely nothing is…" I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"I _know_ something is wrong," I breathed. "I can tell. It's the Tork Family Intuition." Micky bit his lip again. He took a deep breath.

"Kaylee?" he started. I nodded. He looked away and took another breath. "Kaylee, I…ugh." He sighed, smacking his forehead with his palm. He turned away and started mumbling to himself. "I'm just gonna do it. Just do it, Micky. One second, it's over, and you know."

He turned around, his eyes squeezed shut. Before I could even think about what was going on, he leaned forward and kissed my lips. When he pulled back, I looked at him, shocked. At the same time, we both went bright red. We looked away from each other. The, simultaneously, we snuck peeks back.

"I'll…go," Micky blushed. He started to leave, but I put my hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, I slid my hand up to his cheek and led his lips back to mine.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_Jemima's POV_

As I strummed my ukulele in my room, I tried to think of lyrics. Random rhyming words were popping up in my head and I sang them to myself.

"Dog, bog, log, fog," I hummed. "Cat, fat, mat…" One of my strings broke. "…Drat."

I opened my bedside-table drawer and fumbled around inside, trying to find extra strings. But, I was out. That was weird. I could've sworn that I had brand-new strings. I sighed and put my ukulele down on my bed, getting up and fluffing my hair. As I walked out of my room, I saw Emily putting the kettle on for her and Davy's afternoon tea. Davy hadn't been drinking tea for a while, but his sister put him back in the habit.

"Hey, Jemima," Emily chirped. "Do you want any tea?"

"I'm good, thanks," I grinned. "I'm just lookin' for Mike. I appear to be out of strings."

"I think he's outside," she shrugged. The kettle began to sing. "Oops! I'll get that."

I scooted out of the pad and onto the beach. The sea wind blew my hair back, sweeping it to one side. I looked out at the waves, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mike…But I didn't. I found something else instead.

"What in the _world_ are you doing?"

Micky jerked awake, jumping up and dusting sand off himself. Kaylee woke up a little more gently and swooped up. She rubbed her eyes, looked at me, and took on a shocked expression.

"Uh…H-Hi, Jemima," she stammered.

"You guys slept together?"

"Well…Yes," Micky explained through a nervous laugh. "We didn't…"

I cut him off, lowering my voice to a low whisper.

"Do you guys realize exactly how much Jamie'll spaz if she finds out about this?" Micky rolled his eyes. "And don't even get me started on poor ol' Pete." Kaylee's face fell from shock to panic.

"Oh no!" she squealed, latching onto my arm. "Please don't tell Peter, I'm begging you."

"Kaylee, there's nothing to be ashamed of here," Micky said puffing out his chest. "We didn't do anything. We just spent the night on the beach together. Big deal. This isn't the eighteen hundreds."

Kaylee's face was already drained of all color. She didn't seem to be listening as she took off back towards the pad.

Micky groaned and followed after her, kicking sand up behind him as he scrambled up a dune to cut her off.

_Emily's POV_

I poured the hot water into the tea mug as the door swung open with a bang. Kaylee stood in the doorway, her blonde hair windswept and wild. The jacket on her arms looked disheveled and she had sand all over her. Her brown eyes were filled with tears.

"Kaylee," I gasped, leaving the tea and rushing over to her. "What in the world happened to you?"

"W-Where is he?" she stammered. "Emily, where is he?"

"Come and sit down," I ordered, leading her to the couch. I plopped her on the cushions and sat next to her, leaning her head into my lap as she proceeded to hyperventilate. "Take a deep breath." I stroked her hair as I continued these instructions, trying to dust out any sand onto the ratty old rug. "Now, tell me what's the matter."

"I…I can't," Kaylee said breaking into tears. She buried her face in the jacket and wailed.

"Yes, you can," I whispered soothingly. "It's okay. Would you like me to get Peter for you?"

"NO!" she screamed, sitting bold upright. This startled me and I held a hand over my heart, feeling it pulsing at amazing speeds. Then, I remembered that Mike and Peter had gone out job-hunting, which was probably a good thing.

"Okay, okay," I cooed, settling Kaylee back into my lap. "Calm down. Just breathe for a while, dear."

We sat on the couch for a while as she breathed. In that time, Micky and Jemima had come back in. Upon seeing them, Kaylee went into another fit of hysterics, but came out of it when they both went out into the side yard.

"Oh, Emily," she sniffed. "I've done an awful thing. If Peter finds out…he'll never respect me again."

"What on Earth have you done, dear?" I said softly as I continued to stroke her hair.

"I slept on the beach with Micky last night," she whispered as if the secret weighed heavy on her heart and could hardly pass between her lips. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Oh?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, that doesn't seem that bad. You didn't…?"

"No!" she exclaimed, sitting up from my lap again. "I'd never! Not with someone I hardly know!"

"Alright," I shrugged. "I was only wondering. So what's there to be so embarrassed about?"

Kaylee looked at me like it was obvious.

"I spent the night with one of his friends," she said clearly so I didn't miss any of it.

"But you didn't…"

"No! We didn't!" I could tell that I was getting on her nerves, which were already more frazzled and fluffed than usual.

"You just…?"

"We…" Kaylee paused for a moment and bit her lip as if she was debating about whether she should tell me or not. "We cuddled on the beach and…I fell asleep in his arms." She blushed fiercely and hid her face with her hands.

_Kaylee's POV_

For a moment, I didn't hear anything. The darkness of my palms was all I could see that I knew was real besides my burning shame. Then, I heard a snigger.

"Is that all?" Emily chuckled.

I was amazed.

"Is that all?" I repeated. "Don't you understand? This will _destroy_ Peter! I'm his older sister. He needs to look up to me. What kind of a role model am I? Sleeping with men on the beach!"

"Kaylee, dear, you could've done so much worse."

"How?" I asked.

"Well," Emily smirked. I noticed that she and Davy had the same wry smile when he was amused at some else's expense. "You could've slept with _my _brother."

I gasped and held my hand to my mouth.

"Emily!" I exclaimed through my hand. "How could you even say such a thing?"

"You wanted to know how it could be worse," she shrugged, still with that laughing smile on her face. "And that's how. Davy is _such_ a ladies' man even if he doesn't admit it. I'd hate to think of the reputation you would have earned with Peter if you had spent the night with my brother. It would be even worse if you actually…"

"STOP!" I interrupted, covering my ears. "Don't say it!"

Emily smiled and stood up.

"How about some tea, then?" she giggled, walking back to the kitchen.

_Jamie's POV_

Carefully, I lowered my wrench and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, tracing the lovely black oil smear. Micky had told me the night before that as long as I kept my casts safe and dry, I could change the oil in the Monkeemobile. I was flattered because I knew that it was his job and that he had a lot of Man-Pride in it.

Just as I was about to stumble to my feet, Micky and Jemima came running out.

"Hey, Mick," I grinned. "I finished the car. Gosharoony! She's a beauty! It's a big difference from Dad's old hunk of junk back home."

"Squirt, I have a question for you."

"Oh really?" I said, wiping my hands on a rag as Jemima helped me stand and sit on the hood of the car. "And what would that be?"

"Would you be mad if I spent the night with a girl?"

I was shocked, but I knew this question would come eventually.

"I dunno," I shrugged teasingly. "Would you be mad if I spent the night with a boy?"

"Of course I would!" Micky responded without even thinking. He paused for a moment. "I mean…no?"

"George Michael Dolenz, you are twenty-one years old. Be a man. I think it would be awkward if I met the girl you slept with. But I'd get over it…unless she didn't like me. Then I would have to kill her." I shot him a mischievous smile. When I saw his panicked look, I rolled my eyes. "Mick, I'm kidding." His face relaxed. "So," I said, "did my brother finally…"

"No," he grimaced. "I am really tired of people asking this. We just fell asleep on the beach together. No big deal. Nothing to worry about. But Jemima here found us and flipped out."

"Oh," I smirked. "So who's the girl?"

"Kaylee," Jemima said pointedly.

My jaw fell past my scabbed knees.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Well, a while ago I put this story on hold because it wasn't getting enough traffic on the site. But since a couple people have shown interest in it, I shall pick up writing it again. It might take a while. I haven't had Monkee inspiration in a while and I sort of forgot where I was going with this story, but I'll figure it out soon enough. Thanks and happy reading!_

_-Comickazi13_

**Chapter Eleven**

_Jemima's POV_

The first few days when we all knew about Micky's relationship with Kaylee were pretty rocky. Surprisingly, the person I was the most worried about hearing the news actually took it the best. Peter put on his biggest smile, gave his big sister a hug, and started listing off all of Micky's good traits as proof of why Kaylee made a good choice in a boyfriend.

Jamie, on the other hand, was a little harder to manage. The first day after she was told the news, she wouldn't even speak to Micky or Kaylee. She told me that she just needed to get her thoughts straight before trying to accept something like this, but I knew the truth. She didn't really like Micky having another girl in his life, and especially a girl who was one of her close friends.

"When Micky asked about sleeping with girls," she admitted softly one night in the dark as the moonlight poured into our room, "I…I knew that it was going to come soon, but…Kaylee? Is she really the type of girl that Mick would go for? She's so quiet. I always expected him to go for girls who are more outgoing. Don't get me wrong. I love Kaylee, but…" That's when she passed out. The Dolenzes had the strange tendency to completely pass out halfway through a conversation, especially after one or two o'clock in the morning.

But, for every one of us who was or wasn't taking it extremely well, there was a Jones. Davy was constantly grinning at Kaylee and winking at Micky in a hint-hint-tell-me-all-the-secrets-about-your-relationship-hint-hint kind of way. And Emily went into mother mode. She seemed to be glued to her camera. Whenever Kaylee and Micky went anywhere, she would "document" the moment with a not-so-subtle click. The Joneses could be annoying at times, especially when there was a day filled with hints and clicks, but on the whole, I found it funny.

As for Mike, he didn't seem to even notice a difference. Besides the occasional crooked-toothed smile when he saw Micky and Kaylee holding hands, he didn't react much. Things just carried on as normal. That's what I loved about Mike, among other things. The end of the world could happen and he'd just keep chugging along.

I didn't really care either. After the first shock had gone away, I got used to the idea of the two dating very quickly. It didn't seem like such a big deal at the time, their relationship. It was sweet, innocent, and doggone cute!

_Jamie's POV_

Do you want the truth? It was awkward. I never saw Kaylee as a sister. I just saw her as a friend. I always thought that any girl my brother said was good enough to date would be loud and obnoxious like the rest of the family…well, excluding Danny. He's always been a hermit, shutting himself in his room all the time. I wonder what he's doing up there sometimes…but I'm getting off topic here. The point is, Kaylee didn't really fit the image that I saw for Mick.

But he was happy. That's what meant the most to me. And I could see it in his face. When he hugged Kaylee good morning, his lips turned up in the faintest trace of a smile. When he held her hand or touched her knee during the day, his eyes lit up like the finale of a Fourth of July fireworks display. And when he kissed her goodnight, I saw in the knit of his eyebrows that he didn't want to let go of her for one moment.

And I could tell that Kaylee was happy too. Whenever Micky would tell her that she was pretty or something, her face would go bright red and she'd look at her feet, a shy smile making that Tork family dimple rise in her cheek. She would wrap her arms around his shoulder and her eyes would shine. They reminded me of the marbles that my older siblings used to play with when they were younger, perfectly polished.

Still, I couldn't help but feel just a tad bit jealous. I was used to Micky jumping around to make _me_ happy, not some blonde bimbo…Not to say that Kaylee was a blonde bimbo. Don't get me wrong. I don't think she understood the effect the relationship had on me.

One day, I was sitting on the couch, sketching in my invention notebook. Micky skipped into the pad from the front door, closing it with a merry slam. He was holding a bunch of daisies from the drug store down the street. He was humming the song "I'm a Believer."

"Hey, Mick," I grinned, sitting up and putting my pencil behind my ear. He didn't respond. "Mick?" Still nothing. "MICKY DOLENZ!" I shouted.

Micky stumbled and looked at me at first in surprise.

"Oh," he chuckled, walking over to me and ruffling my hair. "Hey, Squirt."

"Can we go to the park today?" I asked, craning my neck so I could look up into his face. "I really wanna go."

"Aw, sorry, Jamie," Micky sighed. "I'm taking Kaylee out today. I hope you don't mind."

"No," I grimaced. "Of course not."

"That's my girl," he smiled, kissing the top of my head. "I'll take you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. As he walked away, I quietly added, "That's what you said yesterday."

_Emily's POV_

"Ooh come here, Kaylee, dear," I crooned as I looked through Kaylee's closet. I pulled out a yellow-tinted dress with short sleeves, a pleated skirt, and a delicately laced top. "This is quite lovely. Perhaps you should wear this when you go out with Micky today. You'll look darling!"

"Thank you, Emily," Kaylee blushed. She hid behind her hair bashfully. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She was quiet for a moment. Eventually, I looked back at her to see her staring airily out the window.

"I do believe you rather like being with him, don't you?" I teased, tapping her shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"Yes," she smiled. "He's very sweet…and he makes me laugh."

"Yes, he is rather goofy, isn't he?" I said, biting my lower lip to conceal my smirk. "You two are truly a charming couple. Do you _see_ the way he acts around you?"

"I'm a little preoccupied," Kaylee giggled, twirling a lock of her blonde hair around her finger. She stood up and began to shimmy into the dress I had picked out for her.

"I'll have to take a picture of one of his facial expressions when he sees you," I shrugged. "It's as if the sun has shined upon him for the first time in his life."

"That's really poetic, Emily," Kaylee gasped. She turned around and attempted to grope for the zipper on the back of the dress. I quickly ran over and zipped it for her.

"Thank you, dear. I do try," I grinned. "Now you must be going. Micky will be waiting for you, I suppose." I winked and grabbed a brush from the dressing table, running it through Kaylee's hair for the third time. "You go have fun and tell me all about it when you get home, alright?"

"Alright," Kaylee nodded. "Thank you so much, Emily."

"You are very welcome."

_Kaylee's POV_

Emily didn't see, but I had looked at myself in the mirror before going out of our room. For a second, I felt outgoing and brave. A smile came to my face as I happily skipped down the stairs to be greeted by a somewhat sour face.

"Good afternoon, Jamie," I said cheerily.

"Is it?" she pouted.

"What's wrong?" I asked, quickly picking up on her unhappiness. I raced to her side and kneeled next to the couch, grabbing her hand.

"Nothing," Jamie grouched, pulling her hand away. "I just wanted to go to the park today…and yesterday…and the day before that. But the person who was _supposed_ to take me has been too busy with a certain new girlfriend."

"Oh…Who was supposed to take you?"

"Micky, dummy," Jamie scoffed. "Duh!"

My mouth dropped open and I stood up. I suddenly felt awful for dating her brother.

"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry," I sniffled, trying to hold back tears. "I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll cancel the date today if it'll make you feel better."

"No, whatever," she shrugged, still cold. "I don't care. Go. Take my brother away from me. See if I care."

I started to back away. She wasn't even looking at me anymore. I was about to run back upstairs and tell Emily all about what just happened when Micky came in from the bedroom he and the other boys shared.

"Hey, babe," he sang, wrapping his arm around me. "Ready to go?"

"S-Sure," I stammered.

Micky leaned forward and kissed my lips. He felt soft and warm, as usual. But I couldn't help but hear Jamie gag quietly from her place on the couch.

"See you later, Squirt," Micky called cheerfully as he led me to the door and out to the car. "So, what do you wanna do today, babe?"

"Micky," I whispered, "Jamie's really upset that you've been spending too much time with me."

"Nonsense," Micky laughed. He opened the car door for me, helped me in, and then buckled my seatbelt. "Jamie understands. I've had girlfriends before."

"Did they all live with you and see you all day every day?" I asked.

"Well, no," he shrugged as he climbed into the drivers' seat and buckled his own seatbelt. He whipped out a pair of sunglasses and pushed them on his face, turning on the car and revving the engine. "But Jamie's a groovy sister. She doesn't worry about things like attention. She knows I love all the women in my life equally." I gave him a questioning look. "And by women, I mean my mother, my sisters, and you, babe." He pulled the car out of the driveway and took off down the street. My hair flew back in the wind a little.

"Micky, I really think you should spend more time with your sister," I persisted. "Isn't that why you invited her to stay here in the first place?"

"I guess so," Micky nodded. "But then, I met you."

"Oh please don't say that," I whimpered. "I hate to imagine me coming between you and Jamie. You're both my friends before anything else."

Micky was quiet for a moment before resting his arm on the back of my seat. He took his eyes off the road for one second to kiss my cheek. But this ended up with us swerving a bit and he gripped the steering wheel tightly, eyes focused on the asphalt again.

"I promise," he said, resigned. "I promise I'll take her out to the park tomorrow. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Good," I smiled. "She needs some fresh air and sunshine. She's been looking a little pale lately."

"Can we not talk about my sister?" Micky asked, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "Where do you want to go?"

I could hear music a few blocks away and some colorful posters caught my eye. I turned to Micky and cleared my throat.

"Do you think we could go to the carnival?"

"Your wish is my command," Micky joked as he turned the car in the right direction. "To the carnival we shall go!"


End file.
